An aircraft boneyard stores retired or inactive planes for preservation, parts or recycling. Learn boneyard vs graveyard and whether planes can fly again.
In real-world aviation, an aircraft boneyard—also called an aircraft or aeroplane graveyard—is a managed storage and processing site for retired, surplus or temporarily inactive aircraft. Some are preserved for return to service, sale or parts recovery; others are dismantled and recycled. The terms are informal, not regulatory classifications.
In our Aviation & Real-World Flying coverage, we use boneyard in that broad sense. It describes the function of the site, not the airworthiness or eventual fate of every plane parked there.
What does boneyard mean in aviation?
An aviation boneyard is a place where aircraft can be stored, preserved, reclaimed for components or prepared for disposal. Operators and regulators are more likely to use precise terms such as storage, preservation, reclamation, regeneration, dismantling and recycling.
Plane boneyard, airplane boneyard and graveyard of aeroplanes all describe the same general idea. The phrase flight graveyard is also encountered, although it is less accurate because aircraft, rather than flights, are being stored.
Boneyard vs graveyard: is there a difference?
No universal technical rule separates a boneyard from an aircraft graveyard, but the words can suggest different likely outcomes.
| Term | Usual meaning | What should not be assumed |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft boneyard | A site handling storage, preservation, parts recovery and disposal | That every aircraft has been permanently retired |
| Aircraft or aeroplane graveyard | The same broad type of site, often with a stronger end-of-life implication | That it is an official aviation classification |
| Storage airport | An airport holding inactive aircraft, sometimes only temporarily | That it performs dismantling or reclamation work |
| Aircraft scrapyard | A facility focused mainly on dismantling, materials recovery and disposal | That complete aircraft are being preserved for future flight |
A row of parked airliners is therefore not automatically an airplane graveyard. It could be an airline's short-term storage fleet, aircraft awaiting maintenance, lease returns being inspected or newly built aeroplanes waiting for delivery.
What is the Boneyard at Davis-Monthan?
The Boneyard commonly refers to the aircraft storage operation at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. It is run by the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, usually abbreviated to AMARG, and handles US military and other government aircraft.
AMARG is not simply a collection of abandoned military planes. Aircraft may be preserved as reserves, regenerated for service, transferred, used as a controlled source of components or processed for final disposal. Davis-Monthan is the best-known example, but civilian and military boneyards operate in several countries.
What happens to aircraft in a boneyard?
Each aircraft follows a storage and disposal plan based on its condition, ownership, records, future value and reason for withdrawal.
- Arrival and assessment: The operator records the aircraft's configuration, maintenance status, installed components and known defects. Depending on its condition, it may arrive under its own power or be transported.
- Preservation: Openings are sealed, exposed surfaces protected and systems treated according to the aircraft manufacturer's storage instructions. Valuable equipment may remain installed or be removed under controlled maintenance procedures.
- Inspection and management: Staff check for corrosion, fluid leaks, weather damage, contamination, pest activity and deterioration of tyres, seals and interiors. The required tasks and intervals vary by aircraft type and storage programme.
- Reactivation, reclamation or disposal: A viable aircraft can be returned to service, sold or converted. Others provide traceable components before the remaining structure is dismantled and its materials recycled where practical.
Market conditions matter as much as physical condition. A stored airliner may become valuable when capacity is scarce, while another may remain uneconomical because its engines, maintenance requirements, configuration or operating costs no longer suit prospective operators.
How are stored planes preserved?
Aircraft preservation is an active maintenance process, not a matter of parking the plane and walking away. Engine intakes and exhausts, pitot-static openings and other entry points may be blanked or sealed; windows and sensitive surfaces can be covered; fluids and engines receive the specified storage treatment; and tyres and landing gear require monitoring.
Every cover, blank and disconnected item must be recorded so it can be dealt with during reactivation. There is no safe universal storage schedule: the approved instructions for the specific aircraft, engine and installed equipment take precedence.
Parts recovery is controlled in the same way. An engine, avionics unit or landing-gear component cannot be installed on a certified aircraft merely because it looks intact. Its identity, operating history, maintenance status, life limits and release documentation must establish that it is eligible for use.
Why are aircraft boneyards often in deserts?
Aircraft boneyards cluster in dry regions because low humidity and limited rainfall slow corrosion, while large areas of firm, relatively inexpensive land allow hundreds of aircraft to be parked.
Locations in the south-western United States may also have hard-packed ground such as caliche, which can support parked aircraft without a paved stand beneath every airframe. Suitable runways, secure boundaries, maintenance capability, towing access and transport links remain essential.
A desert does not stop deterioration. Heat, ultraviolet radiation, dust, wind, large temperature changes, birds and rodents can damage paint, wiring, seals, tyres and interiors. Poorly preserved aircraft can deteriorate badly even in Arizona, while a properly managed storage site in a less arid climate may keep aircraft recoverable.
Can an aircraft from a boneyard fly again?
Yes, a boneyard plane can fly again if it remains technically recoverable, has adequate records and can meet the applicable airworthiness requirements at an acceptable cost.
The main decision factors are:
- Whether it entered a documented preservation programme
- The completeness of its maintenance and ownership records
- Corrosion, structural damage and environmental exposure
- Whether engines, avionics or other major components were removed
- Overdue maintenance, mandatory directives and calendar- or life-limited items
- The cost of restoration compared with the aircraft's operational or resale value
Return-to-service work can include detailed inspections, corrosion treatment, replacement of expired components, restoration of removed systems, fluid servicing, functional tests and any required proving or test flights. The exact approvals depend on the aircraft, operator and jurisdiction.
A mistake we see repeatedly is treating storage age or external appearance as the deciding factor. A carefully preserved older aircraft with complete records may be a better candidate than a newer airframe that has been cannibalised, damaged or stored without proper documentation.
How can you identify an aircraft boneyard?
You cannot confirm a boneyard from rows of parked planes alone, but long-term preservation and processing leave recognisable clues.
- Aircraft are arranged in dense, organised storage rows away from normal terminal operations.
- Engines, windows and external openings may carry protective covers or reflective sealing material.
- Some airframes are incomplete or grouped near dismantling and component-handling areas.
- The site has extensive towing routes, secure boundaries and maintenance or processing buildings.
These signs are not conclusive. A missing engine may indicate ordinary maintenance, and unusually dense parking can result from a temporary fall in demand. Satellite and simulator imagery may also have been captured years apart, so it should not be treated as a live inventory.
Can you visit a plane boneyard or buy a boneyard aircraft?
Visits and purchases are sometimes possible, but active boneyards are controlled military or private industrial facilities rather than open public attractions. Tours and viewing arrangements can change, and entering restricted or private land without permission is unsafe and unlawful.
Complete aircraft may be sold by their owners, while documented components can enter approved aviation supply chains. A boneyard is not a walk-in salvage yard: removing a part, data plate or souvenir without authorisation is theft, and an undocumented component is not automatically eligible for installation.
Buying an airframe also does not make it flyable. Registration, ownership records, transport, maintenance, airworthiness approval, insurance and operating restrictions can make an apparently inexpensive aircraft costly to recover.
How can you explore an aircraft graveyard in a flight simulator?
Flight simulation is the safest practical way to appreciate the scale and layout of a boneyard. Search by the site's airport identifier rather than relying on informal terms such as flight graveyard.
For FSX and Prepar3D, our library has scenery recreating Davis-Monthan and its storage areas. FSX users can also explore airport layouts for Kingman, Phoenix-Goodyear and Marana/Pinal County. For simulator flight planning around Davis-Monthan, our KDMA runway information, coordinates and approach charts provide the relevant airport data.
Match every add-on to the simulator it was designed for. An FSX AFCAD is not a native Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 or X-Plane scenery package, and it may define little more than runways, taxiways and parking positions. Static aircraft and stored-fleet layouts are also snapshots chosen by the scenery developer, not records of a boneyard's real-world inventory.